Republican Primary Concerns: Which Candidate Will Come Out on Top

Candidates in presidential primaries tend to swing to their respective ideological extremes in order to galvanize their party base and garner enough support for the coming general election. The GOP presidential primary has been characterized by candidates that have attempted to solidify the support of the Tea Party movement by taking a strict stance on taxes, government spending, and spending cuts. The race is shaping up to be a binary choice between Texas Governor Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The article I linked highlights how the Republican primary is starting to shape up as "a choice between one candidate who looks electable and another who might be inevitable". Mitt Romney's more moderate political stances may make him a more appealing candidate to independent voters which any presidential candidate needs in order to win a general election. Perry's lack of financial resources due to his late announcement and his more extreme political views may resonate with Tea Party activists and die-hard spending hawks but come general election time may be seen as a political weakness rather than strength, especially when one considers the enormous financial war-chest President Obama has at his disposal. This is especially interesting when one considers the importance of coalition building and compromise in a modern democracy. Both Adams in Democracy and Smith in The Power Game emphasis the importance of coalition building to governing. A more extremist Republican candidate like Perry in my opinion would jeopardize the ability of Congress to compromise on a myriad of vital issues and make progress much more difficult, especially given the lack of a political mandate for how to proceed. Will the Republican Party choose to nominate a more moderate candidate with a greater appeal for the general election or will the more extreme fringes of the GOP prevail and nominate Governor Perry for the Republican ticket? Thoughts class?

Education and the new economy

Optimism about the supercommittee

Good topic for future debate.

The Dream Act: Explained without the legal language

As you may or may not know, this week's debate will be on "The DREAM Act", which allows citizenship to illegal aliens who were brought into the country at an early age under the condition that they either 1) Attend College or 2) Serve in the Military.

In order to bring you up to speed on the issue, Here's a pretty good article outlining the pros and cons of the Act, but without the difficult language that often riddles the pages of a bill. Its was written back when the Act was introduced in 2010. Since then, it has been re-introduced during that last days of congress, in a last-ditch attempt to sneak the bill through before summer recess.

Read up and get PUMPED for Thursday!



Again, Here's the Article: http://www.legallanguage.com/legal-articles/dream-act-summary/

California passes its 'Dream Act'

A few days ago, California's legislature passed their own Dream Act, which would allow undocumented students to apply for privately funded scholarships to the state's public colleges and universities.

Although the stipulations of the bill will not provide a direct pathway to citizenship for California's illegal youth, it contributes to the overall discussion of whether or not illegal youth should be entitled to the same rights that citizens of the United States participate in.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/us/politics/01dream.html

Eric and Irene

I stumbled across this NY Times editorial a few days ago and thought it seemed relevant to the themes we were talking about regarding Democracy. Is the behavior Krugman is discussing here - "threatening to hurt America if its demands aren't met" - the kind of morally questionable act one would expect of a Ratcliffe figure, or is it a reasonable maneuver for a time of extreme political strife?

Link: Eric and Irene

Jobs speech or football?

DC Chilling

First week of the DC Program!

The science and politics of climate

#1 Baseball Fanatic

Play ball!

DC students enjoy a hot Nats-Mets game.

MLK Jr: A "drum major for justice"?

When we visited the MLK Jr Memorial last Wednesday, I could not help but be put off by the quote that appears on the statue's left, which reads "I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness." It seems out of place with the more humble and highly principled quotes of Dr. King's that are inscribed throughout the memorial.

Maya Angelou, popular author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and a consultant for the memorial, was also baffled by the quote that she believes makes King sound like an egoist. How did this fairly misleading quote become inscribed on the memorial? The problem is that the inscription is not actually a real quote. The engraving in question was paraphrased from a few sentences in one of King's sermons that were planned to be inscribed on the statue. A design change forced the planners to shorten the inscription and paraphrase the original wording.

In the real quote, King was speaking about the contents of a possible eulogy to be given at his funeral:

If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.

Angelou contends that the elimination of the "if" clause in the paraphrased version changes the character of King's original words.

Empty Wallets at Home, Crisis Abroad

This summer there was a lot of conversation surrounding the current state of US foreign aid as it pertained to the budget debacle. Although media hype regarding the issue has died down (and therefore the elderly have stopped contacting their Congressman about foreign aid), present concerns have yet to be resolved. Anyone working for a Congressman or interested in the effectiveness/ineffectiveness of US Foreign aid to African nations and the Middle East may be interested in the 'Empty Wallets at Home, Crisis Abroad' event at AEI (Co-sponsored by the Brookings Institution) " on Sept. 8. It's only 45 minutes long and you can watch in online if you cannot physically attend.

Empty Wallets at Home, Crisis Abroad

Rep Howard Berman will be speaking on reevaluating the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961

As the United States labors under the longest economic crisis of recent times, foreign aid has once again come under fire. The American people and their representatives in Congress have questioned whether generous aid programs are paying off, citing cases like Pakistan, a recipient of billions in US taxpayer funds and the home of the late Osama bin Laden, as a prime example. But there are also humanitarian demands on the US checkbook, such as the current drought in the Horn of Africa. Under tight budget constraints, it is vital that foreign aid achieves its goals. But is the half-century-old Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 doing the job?

Representative Howard Berman (D-CA) is proposing draft legislation which works to streamline, direct, and accurately measure the success of US foreign assistance. Join AEI as we welcome the ranking member of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs to roll out his vision for new legislation on the fiftieth anniversary of the Foreign Assistance Act.

A draft of the legislation will be released for public comment following the event.

Economic Benefits of the Dream Act?

Introduced in 2001, the debate still rages on whether the DREAM Act should become law. There are various schools of thought on the matter: while some believe the Act's passage would be a drain on the average American taxpayer, others are of the view that the DREAM Act has enormous economic benefits. Could the passage of this Act by Congress and its subsequent signing into law by the President be a step in reviving the economy after the recession? Well, here is a study by the UCLA's North American Integration and Development Center outlining the economic potential of dream act beneficiaries. According to this study, approximately $1.4 trillion to $3.6 trillion could be generated for the economy in taxable income by potential Dream Act beneficiaries over a 40-year period. Click here to read the findings of the study.  

Mount Vernon

This week, we discussed the novel Democracy by Henry Adams. In one scene, Madeleine Lee and her entourage of admirers travel by boat to Mount Vernon and discuss the decline of the republic since the days of George Washington. Today, the DC group recreated that scene, cruising down the river on the Spirit of Mount Vernon, touring the estate and home, and feeling the spirit of Washington.

Recent HC grad featured on Fox Business

A Constitutional President: Ronald Reagan and the Founding

The Heritage Foundation is hosting a series this fall called "Preserve the Constitution"--free and open to the public.

This summer, I attended Heritage's Military Voting Rights conference with my internship and had the chance to listen to speakers including Ed Meese and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). I highly recommend checking out think tank lectures and events.

On Friday September 9 from noon-1PM, the topic of discussion is Reagan and the principles of the American Founding. Heritage is by Union Station, less than a mile walk from House offices and RNC headquarters, so if you're free, RSVP online. It should be an interesting and informative lunch break.

More photos from today's outing

After this morning's class we were given the option of heading to the National Mall to see a number of Washington's great memorials and monuments. Here are some pictures of what we saw...

The newly unveiled memorial to Martin Luther King Jr.

The Jefferson Memorial

A View on the National Mall of the Washington Monument

Also seen from the Mall is the United States Capitol

As evident from the clear blue skies, it was a beautiful day.

Off and running!

A great beginning to Semester in Washington. Lively seminar discussion about Henry Adams novel Democracy, delicious lunch at Open City, visits to MLK, FDR, and Jefferson Memorials on a beautiful Washington day.

Clarence Thomas as Frodo?

Defeating the Sauron of progressivism?

Free performance on September 12 at National Gallery

Reserve your free tickets!

Women and power

Interesting piece relevant to our discussion of Pfeffer tomorrow.

A Presidential Debate or a SNL skit?

PBM!

Your mentor is on the supercommittee.

Taranto at his best/worst

Dedicated to JG.

A crisis of progressivism?

WSJ Paean to John Boehner

Politico's 50 politicos to watch: Litigators

Tuning out Dems

Dem pollster muses about messaging problem.

Mr. L won't like this

if he's still checking in.

Bachmann's constitutional conservatism

What Successful Drug Policy Looks Like

The Environment Strikes Back!

More on Gore

American girl!

Warning: This parade may push you toward GOP

Reagan: Too much of a left-wing socialist for today's GOP?

Reagan dramatically cut taxes in 1981, severely worsening the deficit situation. He then spent the rest of his administration raising taxes for deficit reduction. He's now a conservative hero.

George W. Bush dramatically cut taxes in 2001 and 2003, severely worsening the deficit situation. President Obama comes along and proposes take a page out-of-Reagan's playbook- raising revenues for deficit reduction, in addition to spending cuts totaling well over $1 trillion.

Conservative reaction: Obama is engaging in class warfare. There must never be tax increases as part of deficit reduction.

More targets for the war on fat cats!

Forget the jets,

the biggest tax "loopholes" are long established provisions most of which benefit millions of the middle class. Good luck killing these sacred cows.